Improvement in thrashing-machines



UNTTED STATES JOHN P. SMITH, OF HUDSON, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN THRASHlNG-IVIACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 53,694, dated April 3;1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN P. SMITH, of the city of Hudson, in the countyof Columbia and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Thrashing-Machines; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of thisspecification, in which Figure l is a longitudinal vertical section ofthe entire machine, in which is represented the cross-section of thethrashing'cylinder and concave. Fig.2 is a perspective view of a portionof the concave in an inverted position, showing the form andconstruction of the same. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a portionofone of the slabs or plates that form the exterior of thethrashing-cylinder.

Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts in all the figures.

The object of this invention is to provide a thrashing-machine whichwill thrash the grain from the straw without becoming clogged therewithand without breaking or injuring its quality, which will require nospecial appliances to insure the regular feeding of the unthrashed strawto the thrashing-cylinder and concave, and which will occupy less spacewhen in operation and cost much less to manufacture than the mostapproved machines heretofore made.

It consists in the employment upon the face of the concave of short semispheroidal or round projections, which perform the functions ofthrashing-teeth.

It also consists in certain novel arrangements of parts by which thedesired advantages of making the machine to some extent self-feeding andof rendering it cheap and compact in construction are obtained.

The improvements constituting this invention are designed moreespecially for what are called overshot thrashers; but some of them maybe applied with equal facility to those machines in which the strawpasses under instead of over the thrashing-cylinder.

To enable those skilled in the art to understand the construction andoperation of my invention, I will proceed to describe it with referenceto the drawings.

A is a strong wooden frame, which supports the working parts of themachine. Near the top of this frame, and situated transversely therein,is the cylinder B, placed upon a shaft, G, the ends of which work insuitable journalboxes secured to the sides of said frame.

D is the concave, placed above the cylinder ata proper distancetherefrom. G is an inclined board, situated in front of the cylinder,and along which the straw is moved sidewise to the cylinder and concaveto be thrashed.

E is a board placed in rear of the cylinder and somewhat inclined, so asto conduct the thrashed straw to the opening K; and N is simply a flatboard designed to prevent the straw from being thrown upward as itissues from the said concave.

F is a nearly-vertical board, placed at an obtuse angle to the rear edgeof the board N. and designed to deflect the straw downward as it passesfrom the opening K, the object of which will be hereinafter fully setforth.

The concave D consists of a plate, i, made preferably of cast-iron, andcurved in its crosssection on the sector of a circle nearly or quiteconcentric with the shaft G, and firmly bolted to a solid woodensupportingbar, b. Formed upon the face or lower surface of this plate2', at suitable distances apart, are several longitudinal rows ofsemi-spheroidal projections, n, so arranged that the spaces between theprojections in one row are opposite the projections in the next row.These projections n are the thrashing-teeth of the concave, and fromtheir extreme shortness" and rounded contour do not break the straw, asis the case with teeth of ordinary form. The front edge of the plate 't'may extend forward beyond the edge of the supporting-bar b, and beturned upward at an angle thereto, as shown at i, to facilitate theentrance of the unthrashed straw above the cylinder. Instead of beingmade of cast-iron, the plate 1 may be formed of sheet metal bent intoproper shape and having the projections 02 formed upon its face byindenting its opposite side with a suitable punch.

The cylinder B is polygonal in shape, and may be composed of staves or,held together by metallic heads (I, one at each end, and through thecenter of which is passed the shaft G. In each joint between the stavesis placed a thin wrought-iron bar, which of course extends lengthwise ofthe cylinder, and which, having its outer edge projecting out somewhatbeyond the surface of the same, forms a 1ongitudinal rib, s, thereon.One edge of each stave has one of these bars fastened to one of itsedges by screws, which, in addition to the clamping action of the staveswhen held together by the heads 07, securely hold them in their places.There may be firmly bolted upon the outer surface of each stave acast-iron slab or plate, 1", the exterior surface of which is furnishedwith rows of semi-spheroidal projections n, of the same shape andarranged in the same manner as those upon the face of the concave. Theshape of the slabs r is fully shown in Fig. 3.

Such being the construction of the machine, its operation is as followsThe unthrashed straw is laid upon the inclined board G in a positionparallel with the cylinder B, and is pushed sidewise along the saidboard until it comes in contact with the cylinder, which rotates in thedirection shown by the arrow..

On this the ribs 8 of the said cylinder, which project out somewhatfarther than the projections a, catch upon the straw and carry it upbetween the cylinder and the concave, where it is thrashed by the jointaction of the projections n of the concave, and the similar projectionsn of the longitudinal ribs 3 of the cylinder. As each of the ribs 8carries up a regular and definite quantity of straw, and as, from theconfiguration of the surfaces of the concave and cylinder, noopportunity is afforded for the lodgment of straw between the saidparts, it follows that the clogging of the machine is effectuallyprevented, while the rounded contour of the projections n prevents thebreaking of the straw during the operation of thrashing, as hereinbeforementioned. As the thrashed straw issues from the concave it moves alongthe inclined board E and is discharged through the opening K, beingdeflected downward as it passes out by the board F. By this means it iscaused to fall closer to the end of the machine than it would if theboard F were dispensed with, thus causing the machine to occupy lessspace; and if a separator is used to separate the grain and chaff fromthe straw, it enables such separotor to be made much shorter than wouldotherwise be the case. Furthermore, the board F assists in keeping thestraw in a position transverse to the machine in passing out through theopening K, thus causing it to fall more evenly therefrom and in bettercondition for binding into bundles.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The concave provided with semi-spheroidal projections orthrashingteeth n, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

2. The deflecting-board F, so applied to the rear end of the machine asto deflect the thrashed straw downward, substantially as and for thepurpose herein set forth.

3. The relative arrangement of the inclined board G the ribbedthrashing-cylinder B, and the concave D, substantially as hereindescribed, whereby special feeding-contrivances are dispensed with.

JOHN P. SMITH.

Witnesses:

WAsHBURN X. SHUTTs, J AOOB W. MILLER.

